Combined unit for cooking, heating and/or gratinating food

Abstract

A combined unit for cooking, heating and/or gratinating food comprises a support member (12) on which rests a pair of vertically spaced plates (20, 26). The lower plate (20) is adapted to receive food to be gratinated while the upper plate (26) is adapted to receive food to be cooked and/or heated. The unit comprises means (36) for deflecting heat over the food on the lower plate and under the upper plate to cook and/or heat thereon.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
       1. A combined unit for cooking, heating and/or gratinating food, comprising: a support member;   flame heating means mounted at a bottom of said support member;   a first plate supported on said support member, and disposed above said flame heating means, said first plate having a projection extending from a central portion thereof to define a passage means therein allowing flames from said heating means to pass through said passage means of said first plate;   a circular flame deflecting plate mounted above said projection extending from said first plate, said circular flame deflecting plate being seperated from said projection by a leg extending from said circular flame deflecting plate and connected to said projection; and   a second plate supported on said support member above said circular flame deflecting plate, wherein flames passing through said passage means of said projection are deflected by said circular deflecting plate and directed over said first plate for gratinating food dishes disposed on said first plate, and the flames are further directed under said second plate for cooking and/or heating food on said second plate.   
     
     
       2. A combined unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said second plate is circular in shape and includes a convex central portion for receiving food to be cooked and an annular peripheral concave portion to heat food placed therein. 
     
     
       3. A combined unit as defined in claim 2, wherein said second plate has a circumferential edge resting on a circumferential edge of said support member. 
     
     
       4. A combined unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said flame heating means consists of an alcohol based fuel burner. 
     
     
       5. A combined unit as defined in claim 4, further comprising a third plate at the bottom of said support member to receive thereon said flame heating means. 
     
     
       6. A combined unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said support member has an inverted frustoconical shape, a side wall of which includes circumferentially spaced openings allowing individual food-containing pans to be inserted and placed on said first plate whereby flames circulating thereover gratinate food in said pans. 
     
     
       7. A combined unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said circular flame deflecting plate has an inverted conical shaped central area.